2008 will be remembered in art market history as a turning point, beginning in a mood of speculative euphoria and ending in violent contraction. Between the multi-million dollar sales of the spring and the extreme wariness of buyers in the autumn, the art market fell victim to the economic and financial crisis as it spread round the globe. At what moment and why did the trend reversal occur?

After seven consecutive years of price growth, the art market weakened in 2008 as it was hit by the world economic crisis. The financial crisis had a particularly fierce impact on the USA and on the most buoyant market: contemporary art. The emergent markets' inflation has been stopped abruptly as they are being neglected by new collectors such as Russians, Asians, Turks and Indians.

Artprice publishes its exclusive art market report that more than 6,300 international media and institutions rely on each year. Based on the 5,4 million auction recorded by 2,900 auction houses, "Art Market Trends 2008" is a 37-pages report of macroeconomics and microeconomics analyses updated to match the auction events and the artworks prices evolutions.

This report published by ArtMarketInsight, Artprice’s press agency, in collaboration with Artprice’s econometrics department also includes genuine rankings such as the TOP 500 artists by turnover, the 100 highest auctions of the year.